


Cold Shoulder

by ColonDentist



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Classic Enemies to Friends story, F/F, Far fetched premise, Gen, Rarepair, aquadot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22393897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColonDentist/pseuds/ColonDentist
Summary: Aquamarine and Steven are stuck on an ice planet. Loosely inspired by Oh Rivalry  by becky69lu
Relationships: Aquamarine & Steven Universe, Aquamarine/Peridot
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Oh, Rivalry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11332089) by [becky69lu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/becky69lu/pseuds/becky69lu). 



> It takes just 20 hours to learn a hobby or instrument at an acceptable level

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a moron and I didn't make chapter 1 and 2 connect. Aquamarine was unpoofed here but not in the next chapter. I must have forgot. Bah.

So, this was it, Steven thought. He was going to be taken back to Homeworld. He was going to be blamed for his mother’s actions and he was probably going to die. He would never see his friends or family again. He felt a nauseating emptiness in the pit of his stomach. A small part of his mind refused to believe this was anything more than a dream.  
Yet it was all too real. The utilitarian polish of the ship’s interior. The infinite cosmos though the windows. The insufferable half-pint gem fairy taunting him and gloating every chance she got.

“I almost pity you, Rose Quartz. I’d hate to be in your shoes. Then again, you wouldn’t be in this mess if you just followed orders. If only you had done your job like you’re supposed to. You wouldn’t be the last of your kind to be stuffed in a bubble. Who knows? Maybe you’d have worked your way up the ladder long enough to serve as one of my guards. Not that I really need one, it’s always handy to have some gems around to defer menial tasks to, every now and again. Isn’t that right, Topaz?” She laughed as she circled around him. A small, dark part of him wishes he could swat her out of the air. If he wasn’t stuck in the middle of Topaz, maybe he could have at least have put a bubble shield up to spare himself the insult to injury. ‘Spare myself the insult to injury. Does that make sense? Probably not’ he thought. "spare myself the trouble"? He was already in trouble. It didn't fit well either. 'Hmm.' He thought about the proper turn of phrase as he absentmindedly watched small fragments of space rock float by.

His train of thought was derailed by an offended looking Aquamarine.

“A-hem. Hello? Can't you see I'm talking to you? What are you staring into space for?”

Maybe it was the pressure of the situation making him delirious. Maybe it was his tiredness getting to him, (after all they have been on this ship for what felt like a day now). Maybe it was he had learned just enough of Aquamarine’s character to know how to set her off, but something compelled him to say with the utmost seriousness: “Don’t you mean ‘Staring out to space’?”

He heard the slightest snort of laughter above him.

Aquamarine looked about ready to shatter the lot of them. She let out a fake dry laugh.

“Hmm. Yes well, we’ll see if you’re still cracking jokes when you’re at the mercy of the Diamonds and that celestial mothball of a planet finally gets eviscerated by Yellow Diamond’s super-weapon.”

The edges of her mouth curled into a morbid, catlike grin. In any other situation, Steven would be creeped out. But her intimidation wore off the first hour after the ship launched. That, and there was something within that sentence that caught his attention more than the same taunt he heard dozens of times already. As much as she thought otherwise, Aquamarine wasn’t all that creative.

Steven rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I heard it before,” He looks up to Topaz. “Is she always this one-note?”

“…Topaz, un-fuse.”

Topaz complied, and no sooner did she did, Steven found himself being pushed against the wall by Aquamarine’s wand.

“You know, I’m a very, very busy gem. I don’t have time to sit here and listen to sass me. If I’m stuck on this ship with you, and If you’re going to bother chatting, you may as well say something marginally useful.”

Steven glowered at her.

“How let’s see. What to ask.” She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully, turning her back to him theatrically.

“Hmm. I suppose there’s not much to ask. I mean we know more or less everything we need to know. What we don’t know will be knocked out of you sooner or later anyway…"

She jumped a little.

"...Oh, but I guess there is one little thing on my mind.” She said, her voice sickly sweet.

She flew up a little closer to Steven.

“I hear a Gem went missing a while back. A Peridot, to be exact. About yay high, gem placement here,” she pointed to her forehead. “Peridot… oh, what was it again…? 5XG? Not that it matters too much of course, but as you can imagine, new gems are a hassle,” Aquamarine said casually. Her disinterested tone of voice contrasted with her body language. Stiff. Shoulders hunched. Leaning in slightly, almost accusatory. 

Steven’s eyes narrowed. What did she want with Peridot? And why was she watching him so intently? ‘If Homeworld wanted Peridot, they would have shown interest sooner. Why now? Why Her? Maybe they know each other?'

“Tic-toc, Quartz. I haven’t got all day.”

Before Steven could answer, one of the Topazes interjected.

“Aquamarine, I don’t think-“

“Quiet,” She barked, then turned to Steven. “Hurry up now, Quartz~ or else-“

Plink. 

Plink. Plink. Plink.

“Huh?” There were little plinking sounds, like bouncing off a tin roof, just loud enough to be noticed.

Then they grew in number.

Plink. Plink plink. Plink. Plink Plink. Plink. Plink.

“…Uh, what’s that?” Steven asked.

The plinking sounds multiplied more and more in number and intensity. Little “plink” sounds became heavy “thunk” noises. The ship shook more and more. It sounded less like hail on a tin roof and more like a golf club hitting the side of a car.

Aquamarine blanched, her tiny eyes bugging out of her little head. “Oh dear.” Steven grew nervous.

“What!? What ‘Oh dear?’”

She instantly dived to her station. “You two, quick! Activate the-“

The ship trembled as a minivan-sized space rock crashed it’s body, hard and fast.

Sirens flashed red as the few bits of furniture that weren’t built into the design slammed to the ceiling. Everything happened so suddenly. The ship burned as it crashed into the nearest planet. Steven instinctively grabbed the nearest thing for safety.

Unfortunately, the nearest thing was Aquamarine, clutching desperately to her chair.

“Let go of my leg!” She shouted over the sirens and sounds of metal on metal and glass.

“No!”

The chair’s bounds began to creak and bend.

“Let go or I’ll kick you off!”

“I said- Look out!”

“Huh?”

The chair snapped and the two went falling. Steven flinched, bracing himself.

_ _ _


	2. Sod Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven decides what to do.

The next thing Steven saw was a blur of pink. His head hadn’t felt like this since the teacup incident.

He shakily stood up to realise his had brought up his bubble on instinct before crashing down to… wherever he was.

He pulled down his bubble and took in the sight of the landscape before him. 

The planet was covered in snow. There were long stretches of white across the landscape, punctuated by large hills and mountains. Closer to him, embedded into the ground, was several little fragments of the ship. He could see vague animal figures in the distance.

He let out a shiver. He needed to get somewhere warmer, and fast.

He looked around him, seeing large pools of still hot spaceship scrap. Something twinkled among the piles however. Steven leaned closer to see the unmistakable glean of a blue gem.

“Aquamarine!” Steven rushed up the pile, while being careful to not slip. He plucked the gem out of the wreckage. 

There was the slightest crack in it. She must have gotten it from the crash. Steven went to lick it, then stopped. Shouldn’t he just bubble her now and save himself the trouble? After all he was in the middle of an arctic wasteland with seemingly no sign of human or Gem life. The last thing he needed was an antagonistic homeworld Gem causing trouble. 

Before he could however, the gemstone glowed, rising up into the air until a figure of light emerged from the gem.

“Ah, nuts”. Steven took a few steps back, tripping on a loose piece of metal and falling onto the snow packed ground.  
_ _ _ 

The first thing Aquamarine knew was that something was wrong, as she landed flat on her back onto a pile of ship debris.

“Ouch!”  
She stood up shakily, her vision blurring. She could make out globs of grey surrounded by white. She grabbed one she fell onto and threw it experimentally. It made a “clank”   
sound as it fell.

She tried wiping the blurriness away from her vision. Nothing changed. 

Aquamarine felt a pang in her chest as she realized her situation.

“T-topaz!? Where are you?” She shouted.

No response. 

“Topaz! This isn’t funny. Get out here immediately or I’ll… Oh stars, I’m alone, aren’t I?”

She plopped back into the pile and groaned.

This was far from an ideal situation. She was pretty sure she was sitting in a giant pile of scrap that used to be one of the most coveted of ships, only given to Gems with the favour of the Diamonds themselves. She couldn’t say for certain however, as everything was a blurry haze. She was effectively blind as a bat. And what good is a blind Gem?

“Shatter me now”. She whined to nobody.

As Aquamarine was regretting her very existence, Steven watched with curiosity from his hiding place. His pity and general good-natured attitude quickly took over at seeing her pathetic display. He wouldn’t feel right if he left a blind, lonesome Gem in the middle of an ice planet with who-knows-what on it. Even if that Gem was the biggest butt-hole he ever met, Jasper included. He sighed, and slowly approached her.

She sprang up immediately, a hopeful look on her face, which Steven would have found cute if her pupils weren’t missing.

He scratched the back of his head. “Uh, not quite.”

She plopped back down. “Oh, it’s the Quartz. Yay. Well, go on then. You might as well get it over with.” She spread her arms out, turning her gem upward.  
Steven looked at her quizzically. “Uh, what are you talking about?”

She let out an exasperated sigh. If she rolled her eyes, Steven couldn’t tell. “Are you dense? Shatter me. Bubble me, whatever it is you savages do.” She made a little brushing gesture with her hand.

“WHAT!? You think I’m going to shatter you?”

“Duh. What else are you going to do? I’m no good to anyone like this. So come on, chop-chop.” She clapped her hands in a way that reminded Steven of the family in Little Butler, only less endearing and more snobbish.

He groaned. “I’m not going to shatter you. I’m here because I’m not leaving you stranded… wherever we are.”

Aquamarine let out a mocking laugh. “Oh, how noble of you, Rose Quartz. I feel so honoured. So, what, are you just going to cart my useless form across this place, hoping you find some method of escape?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess.”

“Hah! What’s the use? Our ship got bombarded while passing through a system full of barren planets, each one so inhospitable, not even the Diamonds have bothered to set up a colony here. It doesn’t matter where we are, we’re janked. So, take your little notion of saving me and shove it. If you’re not going to smash my gem in with a rock like anyone sane and rational, sod off.”

Steven felt his blood boil. “Ugh, Fine.”

“Fine!”

“Good!”

“Good!”

“I’m leaving then.”

“I’m not doing this little routine with you darling, sod off. With any luck, this planet has some kind of vicious beast that will finish me off. ”

Steven wanted to scream in frustration. How many Gems on homeworld were this… stupidly standoffish? Was she really willing to let herself rot on a planet and probably get eaten over the prospect of him helping her? Steven stomped off, before looking behind him.

She was still lying flat and unmoving on the ground, eyes closed. Little flecks of snow started to build up on her form.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ah, screw it.”

He ran back and picked her up like a bag of flour, holding her over his head.

“What- What are you doing? Let me go!” She shouted, squirming to get out of his grip. She soon succeeded, landing face flat in the snow.

She felt herself being engulfed by pure light. Everything took on a pinkish hue. It took a second for it to register in her mind that the rebel Quartz just stuck her in a giant bubble. 

“Let me out of here!”

“No.” He casually rolled her onward, despite her long and numerous protests.


	3. Campfire Chitchat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Aquamarine begin to chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it to chapter 3 of this thing. Go team.

Since she was effectively blind, Aquamarine had no idea where she was being taken. Not that the Quartz knew either, she thought. All she could see was faint splotches of colour that would occasionally form into something vaguely resembling clarity before becoming unfocused again for a long while. In this state, she closed her eyes, paying attention to the soundscape outside the bubble.

She heard the Quartz stomping through the snow. She heard the wind blow fiercely. If she strained her non-existent ears hard enough, she could swear she heard the faintest hint of a deep bellowing in the distance. She shrugged it off. It was probably her imagination.

What wasn’t her imagination was the progressively more common sounds of panting and shivering coming from her detainer. The ball began to slow down gradually as this continued. If Aquamarine didn’t know any better, she would think the Quartz was getting tired. She snorted to herself. Gems don’t get tired.

The ball stopped abruptly.

Steven groaned.

“We need to find somewhere to crash. It’s cold and I’m exhausted.” Through Aquamarine’s vision, the blurry blotch that approximated the Quartz rebel looked slightly more reddish than usual. She chalked it up to her gem being cracked.

“You sound like an organic.” She spat.

“I am. Now sit there while I look for shelter.” Steven replied. He turned and walked away from Aquamarine, not seeing the puzzled look on her face.

What did that mean? An organic? Surely, he was lying, she thought. Then again, why bother lying now of all times? Or maybe not. Maybe Rose implanted herself into a human male and is controlling his organic body like some kind of puppet. If she was capable, she would have retched at the thought.

She would interrogate him (or her? To Aquamarine, it didn’t matter.) later. Then again, what did it matter? There is no chance of anyone finding them where they were. She doubted even the Diamonds themselves would piece together that they’re on this planet. And if they did, well she was probably going to be shattered anyway for failing so spectacularly.

So much for the Best Aquamarine there is, she thought spitefully. She was the oldest of her kind. The highest of her ranking. If she just went through with her job instead of digging up the past, she would be back at Home world by now and the… whatever it is, it would be dead. Shattered. Both? 

If she hadn’t brought up Peridot, if she could just get over one little Gem going missing…

But she couldn’t. And here she was.

But where was she? Or what was left of her? What were her final thoughts?

She felt her eyes welling up slightly. She leaned up, wiping her face, her teeth gritting.

“This is beneath me. I’m acting like an Amethyst.”

“You haven’t eaten anything off the ground yet, so I’d say you’re good.”

She yelped. “You! How long were you watching me?”

“Not too long. C’mon, I found a cave.”

“A what?”

-_-_-_-_-_-

Aquamarine lay down in the bubble, eyes closed and legs crossed. She listened to the hybrid work, hearing the clanking of woods and the banging of rocks. When asked on what he was doing, he replied with a chipper “I’m starting a fire, like early man!”. Whatever that meant.

The room burst into an orange-red hue, accompanied by a quiet crackling.

Steven admired his handiwork. “Nice! Pearl would be so proud.”

“You do realise that you could have just turned your light on, right? Rather than waste all that time doing… whatever it is you just did.” 

“I don’t know how to do that. Besides, this way is more fun.”

Aquamarine snorted. “The great Rose Quartz, the terror of Homeworld, doesn’t even know how to turn on her Gem? Is it because you’re allegedly stuck in a meat body?”

Steven raised an eyebrow. “Wait, what?”

“You said it earlier, you’re an organic. So, assuming you’re not trying to pull a fast one on me, tell me, why bother stuffing your gem into an inferior human?”

Steven looked away, rubbing his arm awkwardly. “I wish I knew why she did that.”

“…What do you mean, ‘she’? You’re Rose Quartz. What are you playing at?”

“I am! Sorta. I mean, no- it’s complicated.”

The cave went quiet, save the ambient noise of the fire.

“You do realize you gave every possible answer to that question. I’ll ask again. What are you? Who are you?” She stood from her reclining pose.

“Uhh, oh boy. It’s a long story.”

“Well, oh gosh. I guess we better hurry it along then. We only have an eternity left.” Aquamarine put her hands on her face and made a fake “worried” expression in what she assumed was his direction. 

“Uh, Aquamarine? You’re facing the wrong way.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you everything. But you gotta tell me about why you got so weird about Peri on the ship!” He dramatically pointed a finger in her direction. She blinked.

“No deal. I don't make deals with-,” She said immediately before stopping, “Wait a second… ‘Peri’?”

“You know, it’s short for Perido-“

“I know how shorthand vernacular works, you pebble. That’s not the point.”

“What is the point, then?”

“From my understanding, a nickname is a sign of endearment.”

“Duh.”

“So, I doubt you’d go so far as to nickname a Gem that you immediately shattered, correct?”

“What? Of course, we didn’t shatter her! She lives in my barn with Lapis. She comes over for movie night sometimes.”

Aquamarine didn’t know how to feel. A large part of her felt like this was too good to be true. That the Quartz-Human mutant-hybrid-thing was just trying to string her along   
with some false promise. That this was some underhanded attempt at manipulation. Yet an even greater part of her was cautiously optimistic at he was telling the truth. That the only Gem she gave a shard about was still in one piece all this time. That-

“Hold on,” Aquamarine said, as his last two words registered in her head, “Did you say she was staying with a Lapis?”

Steven, blissfully unaware of the amount of anger that was hidden behind her sickly-sweet delivery of the question, answered with a simple “yep!”

“And once more, this is Peridot 7XG, specifically, right? You’re certain?”

“Yeah.”

“All this time I thought she was shattered or harvested or who knows what else, and she has been on that mudball all this time living it up with some floozy defect Lazuli!? Without so much as a single distress signal to Homeworld? To me? When I get off this planet, she is going to wish you had shattered her!” She screamed to the point of shaking.

Steven stared in bewilderment and slight fear as she cooled off from her outburst.

“Oh.”

“’Oh’, what?” She snapped.

“I didn’t you cared that much.”

“…We’re never getting off this planet. But if we do, you tell anyone about this and I’ll drop you from orbit.”

“Fair.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might go back and fatten this one up a bit. Maybe.
> 
> At the same time, screw optics, I'm just trying to see this story through.
> 
> Chapter 4 will hopefully cover the other half of the conversation, where Aquamarine learns a little more about Steven.


End file.
